On the heels of her first loss in more than 13 years, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] still wants to avenge her setback to [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag].
But now that she is part of the Bellator banner, doing that could be difficult. Following her first-round knockout loss to Nunes at UFC 232, where she lost her featherweight title, Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240.
But her complicated relationship with UFC president Dana White, who claimed that dealing with Cyborg is a nightmare, got in the way of a potential rematch with Nunes (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC). Cyborg was a free agent after her win at UFC 240 in July and signed with Bellator in September.
Speaking to TMZ, Cyborg said the first thing she asked Bellator president Scott Coker is if they could do a cross-promotion with the UFC and get the Nunes rematch done.
“Before I signed with Bellator, the first thing I asked Scott for (is) maybe to have the possibility to fight (against UFC fighters) – the same he’s doing for Rizin (with) his champions fighting with champions in Japan. … I said maybe if he’ll be able to do that,” Cyborg said.
Cyborg is set to make her Bellator debut when she challenges 145-pound champ Julia Budd for the title at Bellator 236 on Jan. 25. The former UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce featherweight champ is hoping to add another belt to her collection, then hopefully get her rematch with Nunes.
“Cris Cyborg (vs.) Amanda Nunes – she’s the UFC champion, and I hope in the future (UFC) vs. Bellator champion, maybe the fight will happen. Scott said yes, we can do that,” Cyborg said. “Dana White (just has) to call him and make this happen, and I think everybody would like to watch.”
“One-fight deal – just call Scott.”
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